Emergency
This was the first time he'd ever seen an elephant behave in this manner. Something was horribly wrong, he realized all of a sudden.
His chest vibrated with the elephant's warning call. As he tried to come closer, he could sense the threat in the air. He reached the point of no return. He needed to discover what lay beneath the earth's surface.
Park Ranger
Jitendra Tiwari woke up in a good mood, he knew the day was going to be a good one. He got ready for the day, drank a cup of coffee, and headed to work.
Tiwari was a park ranger at a nature reserve. He had years of experience and thoroughly enjoyed his job. He thought he had seen it all when it came to wildlife and nature but he was proved horribly wrong...
On The Way To Work
Tiwari had a special way with animals, and he was good at his job. There was a mutual understanding between Tiwari and animals which made him a well-respected park ranger.
Tiwari boarded the train and left as soon as he arrived in the next town's suburbs. It was a 10-minute walk from there to his job. However, his day would take a drastic turn halfway through.
Sudden Interruption
The sun fell on Tiwari's face and he took a moment to appreciate the warmth on his skin. He opened his eyes and noticed a cool morning breeze. What a beautiful morning he thought.
The birds sang a beautiful song and Tiwari got lost in thought. He was suddenly interrupted by a deafeningly loud noise.
Guilty
His calm demeanor changed immediately. Fear spread over his face. Tiwari knew what that sound was, and he knew that it wasn't a good sign.
He jogged onward after seeing nothing around him. He jogged faster in the direction of the sounds when it resurfaced. He was taken aback when he saw what was going on.
Commotion
Beyond the bushes that lined the side of the road, a massive elephant appeared. Tiwari's disbelief, however, was quickly replaced by anxiety. Something wasn't quite right.
Around the animal, a crowd had gathered. Everyone wondered what was going on. They kept their distance, but Tiwari realized right away that their presence was worsening the situation and making the elephant more agitated.
Alert
Tiwari continued to approach the audience as the beast flailed its ears back and forth, clearly indicating aggressiveness.
Tiwari tried to alert the crowd to stay away from the animal but to no avail. Everyone seemed to be focused on the same issue. Even Tiwari couldn't move his gaze when he saw what the crowd was looking at.
Acting Strange
Tiwari saw that the elephant was trying to dig in front of it. He noticed the large hole and wondered what caused this unusual behavior. Elephants weren't built to dig holes.
He had never seen an elephant act in this manner before. Tiwari knew that there must have been a purpose for the elephants' behavior as they were smart creatures. Something was down there and the elephant was trying to get it out...
Hours On End
Tiwari asked a stranger if he knew what was down there. The man was just as confused as Tiwari, but he did tell him that the elephant had been at it for nearly 11 hours.
Tiwari glanced at the tenacious creature with a mix of surprise, sympathy, and caution. He realized now that this animal was needy for a reason. A desperate animal is a dangerous animal...
Oh No!
Tiwari cautiously approached the colossal animal, but he wasn't alone. The crowd moved closer out of curiosity. If the elephant were to charge, it would be disastrous. Tiwari started to feel nervous.
Tiwari tried to warn the crowd and encouraged them to stay back. However, the crowd ignored his pleas and the animal suddenly charged...
Taking Control
The elephant’s warning call vibrated through his chest. Dust had kicked high into the air. Everyone ran. Everyone but Tiwari. “Don’t run! Everyone stay still!”, he ordered.
Those that remained did as he directed. It was enough to discourage the animal, who quickly turned back and began digging again. Now, Tiwari could see what was happening.
Baby Elephant
Tiwari realized the elephant was a female, and not just a female but a female who was nursing a calf that must have been born not too long ago.
Tiwari inched forward and saw her baby. It was stuck in the bottom of the muddy hole. “She’s trying to rescue her baby!”, Tiwari shouted. “This makes her highly dangerous. Everyone please stay back!”.
Making Matters Worse
The mother elephant was visibly becoming more agitated as the crowd leaned in to try and spot the baby at the bottom of the ditch.
She began to dig faster with her trunk, but she was only making things worse. Every time she clumsily pulled at the soft dirt, she knocked more mud into the hole. They had to do something!
Running Out Of Time
The calf was growing weaker as it thrashed at the bottom of the hole, but the mother wouldn’t give up - even as she unwittingly piled more mud onto her baby. If he didn’t act now, Tiwari knew the tiny calf could suffocate.
The calf’s mournful, haunting cries only spurred its mother on as the villagers watched, helpless. Tiwari’s heart sank.
They Couldn’t Get Close
If they could only get close enough to the hole, they could pull the baby out… if only the mother elephant would realize that they were trying to help.
But she was angry and frightened - there was no way she was going to let Tiwari approach her baby. He just had to come up with another plan. He pulled out his phone.
Calling For Help
Tiwari grabbed his phone and called his colleagues who were only 5 minutes away. They weren’t aware of what was happening here.
The elephant was just at the edge of the nature reserve. They usually never travel so close to the road. Tiwari waited for help as his mind raced with solutions.
Plan A
His team came fully prepared. With no time to lose, Tiwari quickly updated them on the situation. It wasn’t long before he had a plan in place.
Although elephants are huge, intelligent creatures, they can still fear humans, especially humans with guns. Tiwari directed his team to shoot blanks towards the sky to scare her off… which didn’t work. He’d have to come up with a plan B.
Undeterred
Although Tiwari and his colleagues were highly experienced in animal behavior, they had never seen anything like this before.
The elephant was so intent on saving her calf that she wouldn’t let the deafening gunshots distract her from her task. Tiwari suddenly had an idea. The solution to the problem ultimately lay with the villagers.
Help From The Villagers
Tiwari instructed the villagers to gather all their fruit stores and pile them onto their trucks. Although it meant they wouldn’t have a harvest to sell at the market, they were happy to sacrifice it all if it meant they could save the calf.
The heartbreaking cries from the calf were becoming fainter as it clung to life, and the mother’s desperate bellowing intensified. They had to act now.
Trucks Of Bananas
Tiwari instructed the villagers to drive their two banana-laden trucks up to the hole in an attempt to drive the mother elephant away - a very risky move. They maneuvered the heavy vehicles inch by inch until they were between the mother and her calf.
Surely the mother must be starving by now - they could try lure her away. But would it work?
Distracted
The smell of the fresh bananas was too much for the starving elephant - her instincts to survive ultimately overrode her efforts to save calf, even if it was just for a few minutes while she stopped and ate.
Tiwari, his team, and the villagers sprung into action. They knew they didn’t have much time.
Rescue Mission
Quickly, they grabbed shovels and removed the ton of loose mud that had fallen into the hole, creating a slope down to the calf. With his mother waiting anxiously and aggressively in the wings, they had to act fast.
When they were happy, they stepped away from the hole and moved the banana truck that stood between them and the furious elephant.
Returning To Her Calf
The mother elephant raced to the hole once more. Now that she was working at ground-level, she wasn’t knocking more mud back into the hole.
Once she realized that something about the hole had changed, she stepped down into the pit by using the man-made slope. Finally, she managed to reach down and wrap her trunk around her baby.
Rescued!
The mother elephant was visibly exhausted after digging for more than 11 hours, but she pushed on for one final pull.
With her last effort, she finally dragged her calf out the hole and to safety. With a gasp, Tiwari, his team, and the villagers burst into a round of applause. They had done it!
Back To The Herd
The mother elephant visibly relaxed as soon as her calf was back on solid ground. Her aggression toward Tiwari and the villagers had vanished - as if she now understood that they had been trying to help.
She walked into the trees with her calf - her trunk intwined with her baby’s - as they went off to look rejoin their herd.